Combined propelling and steering means for vessels



J. T. TROTH Dec. 5, 1944.

COMBINED PROPELLING AND STEERINGMEANS FOR VESSELS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 17, 1943 Dec. 5, 1944. J T T OTH 2,364,255

COMBINED PROPELLING AND STEERING MEANS FOR VESSELS Filed June 1'7, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .7617 771. Zrozh Patented Dec. 5, 1944 ENT OFFICE COMEINIED PROPELLING. AND STEERING:

. MEANS: FOR VES-SELS I John '12 Truth, Wayne, Pa. 7 Application June 17 1943;. Serial-.Noi 491,197

12' Claims.

The: object of the invention is to provide immovements "in means tor propelling vessels, but

more. especiallyin that type which simultaneously v operates to steer thevessel'. as. well.

Another object isvtd provide a simple: mocha-- nism, whereby the; reciprocatory motion derived from an internal combustion engine or equivalent source of power, through flywheel and con-- necting link, is transtormed into an angularly oscillatory motion in a horizontal plane, .for the angular oscillation of a: propelling vane orp A further object late -provide a suitable differential mechaansm,- whereby the neutral. positionv oi the propelling vanecan bereadily shifted, either by hand, 'motor,. or auxiliary engine, so that resulting changes: in. the genera1 direction of operation of said vane develops an angular thrust, and thereby eifects a, turning of the vessel-L.

Still another objectis to provide a mechanism of this nature, wherein the angular shiftot the amplitude of oscillation of the vane. is a. multiple; of that of the angular displacement of: the tilleror equivalent steering device, and. thereby effects a complete reversal of the propelling vane. and. its characteristic function uponthe steering device being angularly altered only a fraction of the same arc from normals rearward position.

A still further object is. to provide means for locking the steering. device in a given position, so as to thereby maintain a predetermined course: of.

the vessel, and also meansto damp the vibration-- operation, which are hereinafter fully brought-outv in the following description, when read in. corn junction with the accompanying drawings, in

which Fig. lisl a. plan view of the. stem portion of a vessel equipped with one embodiment of the.

form of the device; Fig. 6 is a sectional view sim'ilar to that oi Fig. i, but showing the resilient cushioning shock-absorber used in the device shown in Fig. 5*; Fig. 7. is a bottom plan view of the: stern of: a. vessel provided with the improved propelling'm'echani-snn butwith. a double rudder for steering said vessel; Fig. 8 is a central section. showing. how the propelling. vane can be raised into theprotectionoi a'c'enterboard housing; and Fig. 9 is a-vertical transverse section of the same.

Referring to Figs. 1 to: 5 of the drawings, the 111111 I of a vessel. is shown as being provided with an aperture 2, through. which rotatably extends a. shaft 3, upon the lower protruding end portion of which is secured a. preferably flexible vane 4.- Th-isvane may be. of various shapes, but a shape simulating that or the average fish tai1 has been iou-ndto give best results, due to the fact that there is a minimum. heightv oi the relatively inflexible portion 5 of the vane adjacent to said shaft, while there. is provided a maximum height or width at the relatively flexible free'end portion 6 farthest from. said shaft.

Shortlyabovethe. inner surface of said hull, a bevel. gear I is secured to said shaft,.while above said. gear a. portion 8 of said shaft extends freely upwardly and supports a loosely mounted bevel gear 9,. above which said shaft journalled in a suitable bracket l'lLsecured to one or both of the side of said hull- Between said bevel gears a sleeve H is also loosely mounted. upon said shaft, and aradially extending lug upon said sleeve carries an intermediate or differentialibeve1 gear I2, beyond which said lug preferably merges into a tiller lever f3 carrying ahandlegrip M.

A motor l5 is also mounted within said vessel, and from its flywheel, liB' extends a link l1, connected at its opposite end to a crosshead l8, slidable in a rectilinear path between guides l9. From said crosshead also extends a second link 20 to an arm on. shaft 2|, which shaft extends vertically between the spaced arms of a bracket 22', upon the upper free" end portion of said lastmen'tioned shaft being secured a flywheel or pair of balanced levers 23, which are connected through a link 24 with a lever 25, the radially inner end of which is loosely mounted upon the upper free end of said vane-carrying shaft 3, and secured to and" operative to oscillate the upper bevel gear 9.

Between the floor ofsaid hull and the lowermost bevel gear I a. split collar 26 surrounds said last-mentioned shaft and is normally free to move thereon, but may be locked in any angular position by th clampii"; From this collar an arm 21 extends upwardly and is provided upon its uppermost portion with a pair of cylinders 28 in axial alignment upon the opposite sides ofsaid tiller by links 30. The interiors of said cylinders are connected together by means of a tube or pipe 3|, in which is positioned a retard ing valve 32, the orifice of which can be adjusted and even closed entirely, the passageway through said valve being manually adjustable by means of a suitable lever 33. This structure serves as a shock absorber or dampener of the sudden reversal in direction of the lever and gear 9, so that by not yielding to such vibrations or oscillations, the gear transmits substantially all of the oscillator power from the driving gear 9 to the driven gear 1, and thereby causes the full power of the engine to be effectively transmitted to the shaft 3 and the vane 4 supported thereby. By clamping the lever 26', the collar 26 and the tiller l3 are secured in any desired position, thereby maintaining the vessel on a given course, espe-' cially for periods during which it is necessary to relinquish the tiller. From a forward position in said vessel the tiller may be operated within certain limits by means of the usual steering cable over pulleys I31) and regulated by a steering wheel 130.

A modified form of this device is shown in Fig. 6, wherein pistons 34 are yieldingly maintained in their central positions as to the surrounding cylinders 35 by means of rubber packing 36 or its equivalent, such as various forms of springs and rubber substitutes. This form is more simple than that first described, since it requires no piping or valve, but on the other hand does not offer an opportunity to vary the resistance which it offers to vibrations, that is, by permitting in effect a tensioning of the vibrationresisting medium by means of a valve, as is possible in the first instance.

Referring to Fig. '7, there is here shown a modified form of steering means, comprising a plurality of spaced rudders 31 that are maintained at all times in parallel relation by any suitable means, and are positioned symmetrically and to the rear of the propelling vane 38, which is driven in any suitable manner (as by the engine hereinbefore described), so as to oscillate angularly about its supporting shaft 39, which is fixedly positioned by means of a central forward strut 40 and a pair of lateral struts 4!, having the relative angular positions as those shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Said rudders may be manipulated in any suitable manner, as for instance by means of the steering cable 42, to which they are attached at a distance apart equal to that of their axes.

Referring to Figs. 8 and 9, there is here shown means for retracting or elevating the propelling and/or steering vane 43 above the level of the hull 44, when not in use, as for instance when said vane is not required as a propelling means on a sailboat, and there is separate steering means present. In such case, by lifting said vane, it does not act as a retarding factor in the passage of the hull through the water, while its positioning struts 45 are streamlined so as to still further minimize such resistance. Essentially this device comprises a centrally positioned and longitudinall elongated aperture 46 in said hull, while above said aperture is a housing 41 having a removable cover 48. The vane-carrying shaft 48 passes upwardly thru said housing and through said cover, above which it is provided with or is connected to any suitable driving (i. e., oscillating) means represented by the head 50 catory motion of the crosshead l8, from which angularly oscillatory motion is imparted to the shaft 3 and vane 4 through the lever 24 and gears 9, l2 and I. If the tiller I4 is in central position, the oscillation of the vane is equal upon each side of the central line of symmetry of the vessel, as indicated by the pair of dotted lines 55. If it is desired to deflect the course of the vessel to the starboard, the tiller is moved angularly into the position indicated at 56, wherein the vane oscillates between the limits indicated by the dotted lines 51. In any case, the angular movement of the tiller is only a. fraction of the displacement of the neutral position of the vane laterally of the center line of the vessel,

From this fact, it will be apparent, for example, that by shifting the tiller to a position at right angles to and upon either side of the center lin of the vessel, as indicated at 60, the neutral position of the vane will be-shifted or displaced forwardly to the central position indicated at 6|, therebycausing the same motion of the engine, without alteration, to cause the vessel to move rearwardly or towards the stern. As the operation is the same upon either side of its central rearward position,- only one reverse position of the tiller is shown, thecorresponding reverse position of the vane being the same in both cases.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire'to protect by Letters Patent 01 the United States is:

1. The combination of a vessel, with a shaft, 8 vane carried by said shaft, a motor, an oscillatory member driven by said motor, a differential between said member and said shaft to vary the mid-position of the oscillations of said shaft with respect to said member to steer said vessel.

2. The combination of a vessel, with an upright shaft, a vane carried by said shaft, a motor, an oscillatory gear driven by said motor, a gear carried by said shaft, and a differential gear conmeeting said first gears, whereby angular movement of said last-mentioned gear shifts themidposition of said shaft gear with respect to the mid-position of said motor-driven gear to steer said vessel.

3. The combination of a Vessel, With'a shaft, a

vane carried by said shaft, a motor, an oscillatory member driven by said motor, a differential between said member and said shaft to vary the mid-position of the oscillations of said shaft with respect to said member to steer said vessel, and means to absorb the vibrations of the axis of said differential gear.

4. The combination of a vessel, with an upright shaft, a vane carried by said shaft, a bevel gear also carried by said shaft, a 'motor, an oscillatory bevel gear driven by said motor and having an axis coincident with the axis of said shaft gear, and a differential gear'connecting said first gears, and a tiller connected to and operative to angularly shift said last-mentioned gear.

"5. The combination of a vessel, with an upright shaft, a vane carried by said shaft, a bevel gear also carried by said shaft, a motor, an oscillatory bevel gear driven by said motor and having an axis coincident with the axis of said shaft gear,

and a differential gear connecting said first gears,

. and a tiller connected to and operative to angushift said last-mentioned gear with respect to said shaft, a motor, and means to transmit oscillatory power from said motor to said second gear, said vane being operative to propel and steer said vessel when in any angular position with respect to the angular position of said shaft about its axis.

7. The combination of a vessel, with, a shaft, a vane secured to said shaft, a bevel gear also secured to said shaft, a second bevel gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, a third and intermediate gear connecting said first gears and loosely mounted to oscillate aboutthe axis of said shaft, a tiller lever secured to and operative to angularly shift said last-mentioned gear with respect to said shaft, an engine, and means to transmit oscillatory power from said motor to said second gear, said vane being operative to propel and steer said vessel when in any angular position with respect to the angular position of said shaft about its axis, and means to absorb angular vibrations of said intermediate gear.

8. The combination of a Vessel, with a shaft, a vane secured to said shaft, a bevel gear also secured to said shaft, a second bevel gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, a third and intermediate gear connecting said first gears and loosely mounted to oscillate about the axis of said shaft, a tiller lever secured to and operative to angularly shift said last-mentioned gear with respect to said shaft, a motor, and means to transmit oscillatory power from said motor to said second gear, said vane being operative to propel and steer said vessel when in any angular position with respect to the angular position of said shaft about its axis, and means to lock the angular position of of said shaft to maintain said vessel upon a predetermined course.

9. The combination of a vessel, with a shaft, a vane carried by said shaft, a motor, an oscillatory member driven by said motor, a differential between said member and said shaft to vary the mid-position of the oscillations of said shaft with respect to said member to steer said vessel, and means to absorb the vibrations of the axis of said differential gear, said last-named means comprising oppositel positioned resilient media.

10. The combination of a vessel, with an upright shaft, a vane carried by said shaft, a motor, an oscillatory gear driven by said motor, a gear carried by said shaft, and a differential gear connecting said first gears, whereby angular movement of the axis of said last-mentioned gear shifts the mid-position of said shaft gear with respect to the mid-position of said motor-driven gear to steer said vessel, and means to absorb the vibrations of the axis of said differential gear, said last-named means comprising oppositely positioned resilient media.

11. The combination of a vessel, with an upright shaft, a vane carried by said shaft, a motor, an oscillatory gear driven by said motor, a, gear carried by said shaft, and a differential gear connecting said first gears, whereby angular movement of the axis of said last-mentioned gear shifts the mid-position of said shaft gear with respect to the mid-position of said motor-driven gear to steer said vessel, and means to 'absorb the vibrations of the axis of said differential gear, said last-named means comprising oppositely positioned cylinders and pistons, said cylinders of said shaft gear to steer said vessel, and means to absorb the vibrations of the axis of said differential gear.

JOHN T. TROTH. 

